Team:IvyTech SouthBend IN
Development of a Reliable Cytoplamic Hormone Ligand Binding Detector
One important signaling systems that is not present in the Registry of Standard Parts is that for a ligand binding cytoplasmic receptor system like that that exists in cell that respond to estrogen.
Project Proposal We plan to make a device that will mimic estrogen cytoplasmic hormone receptor and report binding of estrogen and estrogen mimic ligands. This will be an entirely chassis-free system that relies on the alpha-complementation of the beta-galactosidase enzyme. To complement our work we want to create a mammalian, maybe a human chassis system that will report the genes activated by estrogen and estrogen mimics. Our idea, maybe crazy, is to try and drop an RFP generator into a cell genome that will be under the control of the promoter called an estrogen responsive element (ERE).
With our two systems we hope to do some science.
1) We will test a hypothesis that the breast cancer protective effect from the consumption of soy is a ligand that is destroyed by the heat in the preparation method.
2) Using our systems we will search for the endocrine disrupting compounds that are present in our regional St. Joseph River Valley Watershed that are causing the feminization of fish like the smallmouth bass.
3) We hope to use our system to test the safety of a proposed method of using gamma-irradiation to destroy estrogenic compounds in the human wast
